It has been a great year for The Miller on many fronts. I got to go shooting a lot this year. I read a lot of good books. I purchased several firearms and a mountain of accessories. I was gifted a family heirloom to restore. I met a ton of good people. And maybe most notably, decided to give Blogging a more serious shot.

Beretta Px4 Storm: .40cal Pistol. This is my current favorite handgun. It shoots better than my Glock or 1911 and has the best feature sets from both.

Beretta Cx4 Storm: .40cal Carbine. It takes the same mags as the Px4 and is the best iron site rifle I have at 100 yards.

DPMS AR-15: I got a basic flat top DPMS and upgraded the hell out of it. The lessons I learned will help me build my next one myself!

Remington 597: This impulse buy was a bargain I could not resist and is perfect for starting shooters.

The Northcoast Blogshoot:

This fall I had the pleasure of attending the Northcoast Blogshoot. It was organized by Breda and friends and took place in Northern Ohio. In addition to an excellent day of shooting I got to meet some really great people. People I am glad exist in the world. I started reading their blogs daily and even listening to BB and Guns Radio. Fun stuff.

I got serious about Blogging:

Finally and maybe most notable is my decision to get serious about this blog. While I have had the thing up for several years, my posts were random and infrequent. Meeting other people that blog daily has inspired me. I am closing the year out with 100 daily posts in a row. I find myself running in greased grooves. We shall see how long I can keep it up!

Looking ahead:

So what do I have planned for 2011? I want to take some more training. I might buy a few more guns from my want list, maybe buy some upgrades for existing guns. I will build up my ammo. Find a few bargains. I will probably restore an heirloom shotgun. I might even build another AR-15 from scratch now that I know what I am doing (kinda).

Mostly I will continue to enjoy shooting sports. Spending time with my wife and kids, at the range, in the woods or in my home theater and then blogging about it with humor, rage or amused indifference.

--Have a Happy New Year! In 2011 be safe, enjoy life, be glad you live here and now.

I have always been interested in the Rossi Judge series of firearms. The versatility of the .410mag and the Colt .45 combo has been attractive to the survivalist in me. Squirrel, rabbit, small birds and deer have to beware of this guy.

The latest member of the series is probably the most likely one to find its way into the collection. The Circuit Judge delivers amazing versatility and simplicity. It comes finished in a beautiful hardwood stock and includes the latest in modern features like a red fiber optic front sight.

I love that fact that you can also mix the ammo without changing the barrels.

In fact, the odds are, if I ever need a gun it will likely be at night. At the same time I never get to practice in the dark or other various lighting conditions. I will have to work on that. I smell a future blog post.

To mitigate the issue I have tried several methods:

Glow in the Dark Sights - Some firearms come with their sights already patterned with florescent paint. This works great for an hour or two after it is charged up. Even a good flashlight can charge the paint in just a minute or two. I guess that's OK if you have a minute or two. Easy to apply after market is also available.

Tritium Night Sights - I love Tritium sights. If I can get them on a new firearm, I will. They are always on, don't need to be charged and will last for years. My Glock 21 has been going strong for 6 years.

Tactical Lights - I confess I am a Tac-Light whore. I keep a light on my Glock. I have multiple Surefire tactical lights of various kinds.

LASERs - In a low light situations a LASER can be an excellent addition to a firearm. Handguns, carbines, rifles and even shotguns.

Some of my favorite handguns are kind of finicky about what I feed them. My Beretta 96D and my Compact 1911 do not like steel casings for some reason. (neither does my AR15 or Mini-14s either) The cheaper stuff usually shoots dirty as well.

My Glocks on the other had will eat anything. They don't even care if you clean them. Seriously. It's awesome.

But I do Love them. So I demystified guns. I let them handle all kinds of guns. Showed them how to tell a real one from a toy. I taught them the differences in the various types. I taught them lots of rules. More than the classic 4 Rules.

If you see a gun, STOP! Don’t touch it.

Leave the area.

Tell an adult.

If you see a gun and don’t know whether it’s a real gun or just a toy, treat it like it’s a real gun.

Tell me. Even if it's days later.

Adapted and expanded from the NRA’s Eddie Eagle materials. Children should be taught rules as soon as they are old enough to talk. Rules should be added as soon as the child understands and can repeat the earlier rules.

I am glad I have it on BluRay because it needs multiple viewings. The special effects, acting, settings, casting and characters were great. The plot was a notch too thick. Plus it needed a really good sex scene. It was about dreams after all, dammit!

I did not expect so much gun content! There was a ton of serious gun action in this movie. So many people had been telling me, "You will love this move." "It is a lot like the Matrix, you'll dig it." "This movie is so you.". I had no idea these people were discussing the gun content!

The best part of the gift was that he has been paying attention. We go to the range once a month or so. I have one of these 33 round mags already and really enjoy it. I don't know when I expressed the sentiment, but I remember saying out loud within earshot of my son that it would be nice to have a couple more. He is listening.

--Glock Mags, Movies and all the Rice Krispy treats I can eat! Great B'Day!

I have been taking my brother Erik shooting for years. (When his wife allows it anyway) He has always been a real crappy shooter. He could actually hit the targets with a rifle and bipod when we were younger. Today, not so much.

We started with skeet shooting. He brought one of his friends who had a brand new Remington 870. We were taking turns of 5 shots each. I did pretty good at 21 of 25. He missed them all, "How the Hell do you do that? It seems impossible. Too fast." I told him simply, "Use the force, Luke. Let go of your feelings..." It didn't help.

The funniest part was at the 7 yard handgun lanes. Its a good thing it wasn't crowded.

He wanted to try my Glock 21, .45 ACP. A 9mm was the biggest cal he had ever tried before this. I let him go first completely refusing, once again, any advice on form. 14 shots and not one hit the target. Then I step up and punch a nice group of 14 shots that you could be covered with the bottom of a coffee mug. "Oh my God. You are a really good shot." I demurred because I want to be able to carefully put all 14 through bulls eye and have the holes all touching the first hole.

My brother is 5' 9" tall and weighs 119 lbs. Less than half my weight, dammit. So the Glock is like a brick to his hand. He has the worse flinch I have every seen and the anticipation of recoil literally makes his hands tremble. It amuses me kinda. His combination of being hyper safe with the 4 Rules and total crappy form. Because despite all that he still loves shooting.

So the topper of that trip was that his pal wanted to shoot my S&W .44mag. He loved it. Was really doing well at 7 yards. Manly marks cause now he could say he has shot one.

Then Erik wanted to try it.

Keep in mind that Clark Brothers is an outdoor range. But it does have a roof over the shooting booths. Yes, you see where this is going. His anticipation was so high, his hands shaking so much, and at the last instant he actually closed his eyes BEFORE shooting.

I have a Benelli pump action shotgun already. The only thing that could make it better is if it was semi-auto and had a pistol grip.

Wish granted. Now the same Benelli M4 used by the U.S. Marine Corps can be purchased by civilians.

I like to model the tools the pros use. When the U.S. Marine Corps picked a shotgun, they bought the M4. Mostly for reliability. A 12-gauge shotgun that functions the first time, every time, was the basic requirement.

The M4 Super 90 Tactical comes standard with a Picatinny rail for optics, a fully adjustable ghost-ring rear sight and fixed-blade front sight and various black synthetic stock options. These are options I have had to add in expensive, after market upgrades to other shotguns in the collection.

I saw the entire video today. I am kinda pissed off at the media at how badly they misrepresented these events. First off, the hero here was an armed guard in the room, not the cops. I wish someone on that board had been allowed to be armed. The Superintendent Bill Husfelt was made out to be a whiner begging for his life when in fact he focused the gunman on himself. He is a brave man.

Clay Duke obviously was attempting "Suicide by Cop". The Superintendent was actually even trying to talk him down from that very thing. He didn't shoot the crazy woman with a purse. When he finally opened fire he missed on purpose. The guard, Mike Jones, who had standing orders not to act until the cops arrived, opened fire.

I cannot believe how much time went by and the cops STILL had not arrived.

Can you picture 16,000 bullets being fired in one second? 1,000,000 rounds per minute? 180 bullets being fired in less than one-hundredth of a second, all perceived as one really big bang!

All from a device with no moving parts. Computer controlled by our evil robot overlords.

"The distinguishing features of this technology are the absence of ammunition feed and casing ejection systems (the only moving parts are the projectiles), and the electronic ignition of the propellant charges.

The relatively simple external shape of the Metal Storm barrel allows for the clustering of Metal Storm barrels into a barrel array or 'pod', or for their attachment (as single units) 'bolted on' to existing weapons mounts, including infantry weapons. The absence of a mechanical feed mechanism and the inherently compact lightweight nature of Metal Storm systems also makes them suitable for attachment to light robotic ground and aerial vehicles. The electronic ignition allows for the firing of the stacked ammunitions at 'electronic speed' without any delays caused by mechanical ammunition feed mechanisms.

The clustered barrel array has been further developed with the design and building of prototypes of electronic firing control systems, allowing selective firing from any barrel in a cluster, and within each barrel the ability to control the rate of fire. This allows for responses which range from the equivalent of a volley gun discharge (all projectiles 'at once') to using (selectively) individual munitions with increasingly serious (but non-lethal) effects and lethal munitions including high explosive and air burst shells (all from different barrels in the array)."

One of my very favorite firearms in the collection is know as Quiet Mark.

This beauty is a Ruger Mark III and it has an integrated suppressor. You have to shoot it to realize how very quiet, Quiet Mark really is. The bullet hitting the target is the loudest part.

I installed a top rail on Quiet Mark as well but don't always keep the DOT scope on there. It doesn't really need it. The extra length the barrel adds makes the sights really spot on.

If there was a level 4 Zombie outbreak, Quiet Mark would be VERY useful.

If I am introducing someone to shooting for the first time, this is often the first gun I give them to shoot. There is no real recoil, no flash, no loud BANGs. I enjoy taking this and my other silenced firearms to my sisters farm for target shooting. The .22LR ammo is still very cheap and it does not scare the neighbors!

I got my wife a completely awesome Christmas gift. It's huge. So huge that it required a hand truck to get it in the house. In an effort to be very sneaky I moved it into the house alone.

It was almost a disaster.

Did I mention it was huge. Not quite as big as a refrigerator, but that heavy. So huge that as I was struggling with it, I almost crashed, lost control, and the hand truck almost broke my wrist. It was a real three stooges moment. Good thing Larry and Mo were not there. THAT would have been really bad.

Anyway... The next day I went to the range.

All I took with me was my Glock 21. The wrist seemed tender before I went. I thought it was going to be fine. The first time I pulled the trigger I honestly almost dropped it, it made my eyes water, I gasped out loud. I would have dropped it if I had been shooting one handed. The bullet hit 1 inch to the right of center at 25 feet.

The other 99 rounds were all done left handed. I did good though. An 8 or 10 inch group tops.

The lesson here is, practice off hand shooting. If you get injured at the wrong moment. You may need it!

My Beretta 96D has an internal LASERMAX site installed inside the main body of the firearm. I Love the LASER and it is spot on when I use it.

One thing that it is great for is dry fire training.

First off, when dry fire training, recite the 4 Rules. Actually say them out loud. Clear your gun, twice. Dry fire targets should be something safe. Not your cat, not the bottles on your bar, not the neighbors tires out the window. THE 4 RULES!

My 96D has a very heavy trigger pull. Dry firing with it has really helped me with trigger control. The LASER is a great way too to show if you are staying on target as you are pulling the trigger. It should be a smooth pull all the way through with the LASER staying firm on the target.

LASERS make a great training tool. They give you feedback and help you establish muscular memory.

The first time I saw a Beretta Cx4 Storm was not in a store, a gun show, the web or in a magazine.

It was on Battlestar Galatica on the SciFi channel.

Eventually I saw one in person and got the details. I had been on the lookout for years for a carbine that had magazines that could be shared with a matching handgun. I ended up buying one and the matching Px4 handgun. both in .40cal and both take the same magazines.

I can hit a paper plate (or Zombie cranium) every time at 100 yards with Kara (named after Kara Thrace).

It only weighs about 5.5 pounds. It has a top rail for scopes and other goodies as well as small side and bottom rails.

The matching Px4 is my current favorite handgun. If I have bought this first I probably would have one in .45 and on in 9mm in stead of the Glocks I have.

One was a rifle and the other was a handgun. I really enjoyed the guns for many years when I was a kid. They were great for shooting pop cans. BBs cost next to nothing and you could buy 1000 of them in a milk carton style cardboard container at the local Hardware store.

It is good to learn the 4 Rules early.

Anyway this weekend I was antique shopping with my wife looking for a manual meat grinder. I saw the exact BB gun I had as a kid. I didn't buy it because it was not functional. But suddenly I started seeing classic BB guns everywhere.

I just want a cannon. A real one. I want to pack gun powder, wadding and a cannon ball with a real ram-rod. I want to actually light a fuse. I want to be able to hit a door sized target at 300 yards.

I don't care that it would be stupid expensive to buy or that it would cost $30 every time I fire it. I don't care that it would require consistent maintenance, even if I don't fire it. I don't care that it would be a pain in the ass to find a place to shot it, to move it, to store it or explain it's existence to people.

Don't ask me why I want it. If I have to explain it, you probably won't understand anyway.

Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that’s it.

In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.

When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat or employment of force. The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gangbanger, and a single gay guy on equal footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender.

There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad force equations. These are the people who think that we’d be more civilized if all guns were removed from society, because a firearm makes it easier for a mugger to do his job. That, of course, is only true if the mugger’s potential victims are mostly disarmed either by choice or by legislative fiat–it has no validity when most of a mugger’s potential marks are armed. People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the young, the strong, and the many, and that’s the exact opposite of a civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a successful living in a society where the state has granted him a force monopoly.

Then there’s the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal that otherwise would only result in injury. This argument is fallacious in several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations are won by the physically superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on the loser. People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don’t constitute lethal force watch too much TV, where people take beatings and come out of it with a bloody lip at worst. The fact that the gun makes lethal force easier works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not the stronger attacker. If both are armed, the field is level. The gun is the only weapon that’s as lethal in the hands of an octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weightlifter. It simply wouldn’t work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn’t both lethal and easily employable.

When I carry a gun, I don’t do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I’m looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I cannot be forced, only persuaded. I don’t carry it because I’m afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn’t limit the actions of those who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force. It removes force from the equation…and that’s why carrying a gun is a civilized act.

"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."

"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man. "

"And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. ... The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

George Washington: "Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth and keystone under independence."

James Madison: "The Constitution preserves the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation ... (where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms."

Alexander Hamilton: "If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is no recourse left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all forms of positive government."

Richard Henry Lee: "To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."

Tench Coxe: "Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birth-right of an American. ... The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people."

George Mason: "Who are the militia? They consist of the whole people, except a few public officers."

Noah Webster: "The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword, because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops."

John Adams: "Resistance to sudden violence, for the preservation not only of my person, my limbs, and life, but of my property, is an indisputable right of nature which I have never surrendered to the public by the compact of society, and which perhaps, I could not surrender if I would."

Samuel Adams: "And that the said Constitution be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the Press, or the rights of Conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms."

Congress ordered the reversal of a gun ban that had been in place on the government-owned railroad for nearly a decade, reports the Sacramento Bee. The policy change takes effect Dec. 15.

The new rail policy is in line with air travel rules that allow unloaded guns to be stored in locked baggage holds.

Gun owners will need to let Amtrak know 24 hours in advance of their intention to bring firearms onboard and the unloaded guns will need to be packed in hard-sided containers. These will be placed in special storage lockers - guns will not be allowed on trains that don't have checked baggage service.

Amtrak says gun storage lockers are being added to rail cars. But officials say they don't know how many people will want to bring firearms on trains.

I visited my friend T-Bolt tonight after work tonight. Before buying me some excellent Beer, Bangers and Mash at a favorite local pub he took me to his favorite gun store.

At dinner we were discussing dumb ass rules that gun owners have to follow in Maryland.

In Maryland you can only buy mags that have a 20 round capacity. The REALLY DUMB ASS part about this rule is that it is perfectly fine to own them and use them in MD. You can buy them else where in other states legally, like at the Nations Gun Show, and bring them back.

I just don't get it. Do they just want residents to use gas to drive a few miles to get decent mags? Do they want to encourage the use of the Internet?

I got some new shelves from www.freecycle.org that are perfect for ammo storage. They really make it easy to see the inventory at a glance and show me what needs restocking.

I got two sets that are each about four feet wide and three feet tall. I believe they were originally intended for CDs or VHS tapes.

One shelf unit has my ammo sorted on shelves by caliber. The other shelf has assorted magazines, loaded, organized and ready to go.

Already I can see I where need to stock up. Ammo types I need to buy. Additional magazines for specific firearms too. At the Northcoast blogshoot I blew through about a 1000 rounds of various flavors. Christmas is coming! Ammo makes a great gift! Wink, wink!